Bioethicist Arthur Caplan receives 2014 Public Service Award for an individual

Press Release 14-042Bioethicist Arthur Caplan receives 2014 Public Service Award for an individual

Caplan’s work fosters greater understanding of science, medicine and ethics

Arthur Caplan is a trailblazer in raising awareness about ethical questions for scientific advances.Credit and Larger Version

March 24, 2014

Today the National Science Board (NSB) announced that renowned bioethicist Arthur Caplan, a global leader in medical ethics, is the 2014 recipient of its Public Service Award for an individual.

NSB’s Public Service Award honors an individual’s exemplary service in fostering public understanding of science and engineering. Arthur Caplan is the founding head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York. Known as the ‘go-to’ expert on ethics, medicine and science, Caplan has long been a trailblazer in raising awareness about the ethical questions that accompany scientific and technological advances.

“Years before the cloned sheep Dolly appeared on the global stage, Arthur Caplan was working to raise public awareness and discussion about ethical implications of science,” said Ruth David, Chair of the NSB’s Committee on Honorary Awards. “Arthur engaged with reporters, wrote and talked about ethical and policy questions related to science, medicine and bioengineering, and encouraged his peers and students to do likewise.”

Caplan is the author or editor of 32 books and over 600 papers in peer reviewed journals. He has chaired a number of national and international committees including the National Cancer Institute Biobanking Ethics Working Group and the Advisory Committee to the United Nations on Human Cloning, among others. He writes a column on bioethics for NBC.com, is a commentator on bioethics and health care issues for WebMD/Medscape, and a regular commentator on medicine and science for WGBH radio in Boston.

Among Caplan’s many recognitions are the McGovern Medal of the American Medical Writers Association, the Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics, and a Person of the Year-2001 from USA Today. He is a fellow of the Hastings Center, the NY Academy of Medicine, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“I am very honored to receive this award and very proud to join the ranks of previous awardees who have worked tirelessly to enhance the public’s understanding of science and the social and ethical choices advances in science, engineering and health care present,” said Caplan.

NSB will present Caplan with the Public Service Award for an individual on May 6, 2014, during the National Science Foundation/NSB Annual Awards Ceremony held in Washington, D.C. Recipients of the NSB’s Public Service Award for a group and Vannevar Bush Award will also be honored, along with NSF’s Waterman awardee. Past Public Service Award individuals include Moira Gunn (Tech Nation), Nalini Nadkarni (Evergreen State College) and Alan Alda (Scientific American Frontiers).

About the National Science Board

NSB is the policymaking body for the National Science Foundation. NSB also advises the President and Congress on science and engineering policy issues. The Board’s 24 members are drawn primarily from universities and industry and represent a variety of science and engineering disciplines. Selected for their eminence in research, education or public service and records of distinguished service, Board members serve six-year terms. NSF’s Director is an ex officio 25th member of the Board. Visit NSB’s website for more information.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2014, its budget is $7.2 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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